On Friday March 14th, Movements delivered a stacked show to New York City. The band headlined the Brooklyn Paramount, with incredible openers such as Scowl and Citizen. It was a wonderful night that reminded us how wonderful it is to be alive. Every band delivered their best performance. The scene is very much alive and thriving.
The first band to go on was Scowl. Through Taco Bell commercials, opening for huge tours, being billed on worldwide festivals, this band is really blowing up. They were easily the heaviest and most punk band on the bill. Kat Moss (vocalist) was screaming their heart out on every track. The band was jumping around and thrashing their guitars while they shredded. They showed the crowd why hardcore and emo have always gone well together.
Citizen was in a much more similar vein (musically) to Movements. Their songs are energetic for sure but also more emotional and somber. The band has written some of the best punk tracks to come out of the 2010’s with the darkest lyrics imaginable. They played a healthy mix from all their albums. I do wish we heard more songs from 2017’s As You Please record, but since they were opening I understand there are time limitations. Something interesting to note is how well the songs off their new record Calling All The Dogs translated live. Life In Your Glass world was in my top 5 albums of 2021. It was going to be very difficult to top. However, the newer tracks seemed to fit perfectly into their setlist. The band opened with the gut wrenching “The Night I Drove Alone”, it was a powerful way to open their set. A fantastic highlight of the night for sure.
Movements stole the show, as they typically do. Pat’s stage presence was strong and commanding. He didn’t need to jump around or go crazy to be the most interesting person in the room. His charisma and simple vocal tones were enthralling to listen to. Something that Movements does that makes them so special, is add energy to even the slower tracks. When they played “Tightrope” off the new album, an admittedly slower piece, the crowd was belting the words back to them. The band had complete control of their sound and the crowd. It was incredible to watch.
Last year, the band played their debut album Feel Something in full at When We Were Young festival. Seeing Movements headline Brooklyn Paramount really made me want to hear RUCKUS in full too. It’s truly a rare thing when a band’s newest album elicits the same emotions and longing as their first one. Tracks like “I Hope You Choke” got the entire venue off their feet dancing. The band even used 2 songs off RUCKUS in their first 3 played from the night. It shows how confident the band is in their new material. With how good it is too, they have every right to be!
Furthermore, something interesting to note was the stage design. The band had colorful lights of course, as every concert does. However, there weren’t any huge set pieces of screens typically seen in most rock shows. All the band had was an LED sign that hung above them that said, “MOVEMENTS” in all caps. This really showcased how important the musicianship was. It was a very punk rock ethos to their very sad music.
The band even ended their set by stating after this final tour for RUCKUS, they were going to go back in the studio and write a 4th album. This was arguably one of the most exciting moments of the whole night. It’s clear Movements are still in their prime and have no intention of slowing down.
